Laser printers have dropped price very significantly in recent years, but they still tend to be too expensive and too cumbersome for home offices. However, if you don’t need to print in color, mono lasers can be very compact in fact.
In fact, HP claims that its new LaserJet Pro M28w is the smallest ‘ in its class ‘ Laser printer – which, in this case, means a mono-only multi-function laser printer with integrated scanner and copier, and USB and Wi-Fi connectivity. That makes it best choice for home users or office executives who need a fast, mono high-quality printer/scanner that takes as little space as possible.
The LaserJet Pro M28w we examine here costs £115 if you buy directly from HP, but you can save a few pounds if you hunt around for other online retailers. In the US, you’ll find it at Walmart for us $109.99.
If you don’t need Wi-Fi, then you can opt for the USB version only, called the M28a, which costs £97 of Amazon.co.uk.
There are also two M15 models, which are simple mono laser printers without scanners. The M15a only provides USB connectivity for about £70, while the M15w adds Wi-Fi to £79. In the United States, all these printers are completely new, with the M28w showing as “soon ” on the HP website, and the US $99 M15w currently out of stock.
The M28w really surprised us when it arrived as it is really extremely compact. It just stands 198mm High, 360m wide and 264mm deep and is certainly small enough to sit on a desk near a computer in a small office or in a free room at home.
There is a 150 sheet paper tray at the base of the printer, while the outgoing mail has 100 sheets, and the recommended output of 1000 sheets per month must be much more than people will need.
The printer provides USB and Wi-Fi connectivity, with Apple print support for IOS devices and Google Cloud print for everyone else. There is also an HP Smart application that can be used for printing and scanning from IOS and Android devices as well.
Although there are a couple of signs of cost reduction. The small one-inch LED control screen is not really useful, although the HP software works well and provides all the features you need to control the print or scan from your PC or MAC. There is no automatic duplex (double-sided printing) or-even if there is a manual duplex option available for occasional use.
Compact design and quick printing, high quality HP LaserJet Pro M28w make it a good option for some kind of small business or home Office. However, expensive toner cartridges mean that operating costs are higher than average, so the printer will be more suitable for occasional use when you really need high quality text documents.
Specs HP LaserJet Pro M28w:
A4 mono laser printer
600dpi print resolution
1200dpi scanner/copier
150-sheet paper tray
Connectivity: USB, Wi-Fi, with Apple AirPrint, Google CloudPrint support
Dimensions: 198x360x264mm
Weight: 5.4kg
photo:HP